Local News

Decisions coming either later Wednesday night or Thursday morning for FM city offices

By Jenni Grubbs

The Fort Morgan Times

Posted:
03/12/2019 05:32:58 PM MDT

Looking west toward Main Street on East Seventh Avenue around 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, in Fort Morgan. (Geoff Baumgartner / The Fort Morgan Times)

Updated at 6:21 p.m. Wednesday I-76 continued to be closed, and an emergency shelter for stranded motorists was set up at Fort Morgan High School, according to Morgan County officials. In Brush, the Moose Lodge was serving as a storm shelter Wednesday night, according to Paul Acosta.

Brush School District announced school would be cancelled for Thursday, March 14, and all activities would be postponed. Likewise, school was cancelled Thursday at Fort Morgan, Wiggins and Prairie schools. Other closures of businesses, government offices and more are possible Thursday.

The falling snow starts showing signs of accumulating around 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, near Bank of the West in Fort Morgan. (Brian Porter / The Fort Morgan Times)

Updated at 1:55 p.m. Wednesday I-76 from Brighton to Nebraska is closed. Most City of Fort Morgan offices and facilities closed at noon today due to the worsening weather and predictions of extreme winds and snow and hazardous travel conditions later in the day. City officials expect to reopen at normal hours on Thursday, March 14, but that will depend on conditions at that time.

Updated at 9:32 p.m. Tuesday The forecast for blizzard-like conditions to hit the area by late morning Wednesday means students at Fort Morgan's public elementary, middle and high schools will not have school either Wednesday or Thursday, according to Re-3 Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rena Frasco.

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After speaking with a meteorologist from the National Weather Service on Tuesday, Frasco said she then spoke by phone with Re-3 Superintendent Dr. James Hammack, who was out of state, and Re-3 Safety Director Vicki Davis. Together, they decided it would be best to cancel school both days.

"I sat through a couple briefings from the National Weather Service here," Frasco said. What stuck with her from those briefings was that "this could be super epic here" in Morgan County.

While the county likely would see rain Wednesday morning, it could turn to snow by late morning, she heard. And then once it starts snowing, it will come down hard and heavy.

"The temperature is just going to crash," Frasco said she heard. "We just want people to be safe."

All Re-3 School District activities and sports that had been set for Wednesday and Thursday also will be postponed or cancelled, she said.

School also is cancelled for a couple religious schools in Fort Morgan, including Lighthouse SDA Christian School and Trinity Lutheran School, which usually follow what the Re-3 School District does regarding weather closures.

However, the Little Lambs Early Education Center at Trinity Lutheran School will be open Wednesday, unless the City of Fort Morgan closes, according to Little Lambs Director Carri Brown.

Morgan Community College will be closed on Wednesday, according to MCC Pres. Dr. Curt Freed, but a decision had not been made yet Tuesday evening about whether the closure would extend to Thursday.

As of Tuesday evening, Calvary University Innovation Campus was planning to proceed with holding the small class it had planned for Wednesday night, according to Rob Jewel from Calvary.

At about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Brush School District sent out an announcement saying that Brush schools would be closed on Wednesday.

Wiggins School District on Tuesday evening announced school would be closed on Wednesday, and all school activities and athletics were being postponed. The Wiggins School Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday night also is cancelled or postponed.

Weldon Valley School District officials would make announcement between 6 and 7 p.m. Tuesday if school were going to be closed Wednesday, according to Weldon Valley School Principal Ben Bauman. Such an announcement would be listed on the school district's Facebook page and through a message sent directly to parents.

Prairie School had no school closures announced as of Tuesday afternoon, but a decision on that would be made early in the morning Wednesday, according to school officials. However, a baseball game and other scheduled school activities were being postponed.

Morgan County government offices will close at noon on Wednesday, according to an announcement from the Morgan County commissioners forwarded to The Times Tuesday night by Morgan County Clerk & Recorder Susan Bailey.

"Due to the expected inclement weather arriving the afternoon of Wednesday March 13, 2019, the Morgan County Commissioners will close the Morgan County Government offices at (noon) March 13, 2019," the announcement read. "Inclement weather policies are in effect from 8 a.m. to (noon)."

The Town of Wiggins announced Tuesday afternoon that Town offices would be closing at noon on Wednesday and the regular Wiggins Board of Trustees meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday night was being postponed until March 27.

Log Lane Village Mayor Robin Mastin said Tuesday night there were no plans to close Town Hall on Wednesday. But if the weather got bad, she said she had no problem with sending town employees home and closing the town offices.

The City of Fort Morgan did not have any closures or cancellations to announce Tuesday night, according to City Clerk/Public Information Officer John Brennan, but city department superintendents and managers had many conversations about the storm forecast and had plans in place.

He said the police department and utility departments were prepared for the coming storm, and the city was in contact with the American Red Cross in case their help or response should become necessary.

The Streets Department has dump trucks filled with sand in preparation for dealing with streets covered with snow and ice in coming days, Brennan said, and the Parks Department workers were ready to help with snow removal operations. The city also has lists of on-call contractors it can tap if needed.

The City was expecting to be open Wednesday, Brennan said.

"We plan to have employees come to work," Brennan said. "We're going to kind of play it by ear."

The big question for everyone is whether the worst of the possible scenarios from the National Weather Service will play out in Fort Morgan.

"I think we should be in good shape," Brennan said of the City of Fort Morgan, but he added, "It's kind of scary the sway they're describing this storm."

On Tuesday night, the Colorado Department of Transportation sent out an advisory for motorists to expect the possibility of road closures and delays on Interstate 76 that could start by mid-morning Wednesday due to anticipated blizzard conditions and strong winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour. The main impacts on I-76 would be from Fort Morgan to the Nebraska state line, according to CDOT.

A truck drives slowly down Ensign Street in Fort Morgan during the blizzard that hit the city March 23, 2016. That blizzard caused numerous traffic accidents throughout Morgan County. Another such storm with blizzard conditions could hit Fort Morgan on Wednesday. (The Fort Morgan Times file photo)

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